New diagnosis - worried about anxious cat and cost

Hello everyone,

My cat Fiona is 13 and was just diagnosed with diabetes... her blood glucose was 370. The reason we found out was we were looking at steroid treatment for asthma so did blood work, and after the initial test, the vet wanted to check to see if it was just a temporary spike in glucose due to stress or not. (Poor baby peed on the table at the vet, she was so nervous!)

She and her sister, Gwen, have been with me since they were about 6 weeks old; I adopted them from the foster program through a local shelter. Fiona is a "hider" type cat - fearful of new people, likes to be under the bed, rather a lazy type though very sweet. When I was treating her for asthma with the Aerokat inhaler device, she was petrified of the *pssst* sound the dispenser made. I finally stopped treating her because it was more traumatic than her having some asthma coughs! She also is fearful of the television when it is on, even on mute. She is a funny little thing =)

In any case, I am worried about treating such an easily-freaked out cat and am concerned about cost, too. Costco gave me the cheapest price for 1 vial of Lantus at about $127. I am not sure if that would be a one month supply or not - I have just started exploring the boards but just needed to put myself out there to the board.

I need to pick up the Rx, get it filled, and go in to the vet office on Saturday morning to have an injection lesson.

I will continue reading over the next few days and hopefully can put a pic of Fiona as my avatar soon.

 

Re: New diagnoses - worried about anxious cat and cost

Welcome! Yes, keep reading and asking questions. Your vet prescribed a good insulin. We would urge you to start testing her at home ( it sounds like poor Fiona is definitely stressed at the vet and stress raises blood glucose levels. Then doses based on those high numbers may be too high once she gets home.) If you can get some numbers before your visit on Saturday, it might mean a lower dose to start with. You can start slowly and get her used to having her ears touched (treats are vital here) and warmed.

And you can also make a food change before she starts insulin. (When we switched from dry to wet, Oliver came down 100 points overnight.) We feed wet low carb foods (under 8 -10% carbs) A vet explains why here: www.catinfo.org And here is our food chart: Janet and Binky’s chart

We often see kitties who were on steroids do very well. And with her relatively low number at the vet (while under a lot of stress) and if she can start on a completely low carb diet, she may be a kitty who does not require a lot of insulin.

Let us know how we can help.

 

Re: New diagnoses - worried about anxious cat and cost

Welcome :smile: You'll get lots of help here :smile:

Inahled Flovent is the preferred treatment for a cat who is also diabetic. The Flovent particles are too large to pass through the lungs and affect blood glucose levels. Some cats don't like the brief puff noise but with treat rewards and praise, they can learn to sit still for the Flovent. Steroids can raise blood glucose levels in a diabetic cat which makes it harder to regulate the levels.

That's a typical price for the 10 ml bottle. Most people here use the Lantus SoloStar pens instead of the 10 ml bottle. Very few cats can use up a 10 ml bottle before the insulin starts to lose effectiveness, wich can happen in as a little as month though some people can get a few months use out of a bottle. The Solostar pens are more cost effective. A box contains five 3 ml pens which is at least a 5 month supply you will have on hand. The price is around $225 or so. Per pen, the cost is well less than a 10 ml bottle. Some pharmacies may sell a single pen. You use an insulin syringe to draw the insulin out of the pen, not the pen needles like a Human diabetic would. There are pictures here of how it is done: http://felinediabetes.com/FDMB/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=151

There is a $25 coupon for the SoloStar pens here: http://felinediabetes.com/FDMB/viewtopic.php?f=15&t=36964

The vet's prescription has to specify the SoloStar pens.

Other ways to save money is to use a prescription drug card, such as this one and these, and buying your Lantus from an online Canadian pharmacy. I believe Costco has a prescription drug card that you can sign up for.

Did the vet say anything about testing your cat's blood glucose levels? This is something you can do at home and really should do so you know how your cat is responding to the insulin. Blindly giving insulin without knowing what the blood glucose level is dangerous. Some vets discourage clients from testing at home but you don't need the vet's permission. A Human blood gluocse meter and supplies is all you need. You can buy one at any pharmacy (avooid the FreeStyle brand and any brand that contains True in the name. These give inaccurate readings). Or you can request a free starter kit from here http://felinediabetes.com/FDMB/viewtopic.php?f=28&t=60261 You don't need a pet specific meter like the Alphatrak.

What did your vet say about diet? The right diet is important, just like it is for Human diabetics. Prescription food is not needed no matter what the vet may say. There are many commercial brands of canned food you can feed to your cat: Fancy Feast, Friskies, Wellness, etc. Dry foods are too high in carbs (think sugar junk) for a diabetic cat and is one reason why some cats end up diabetic in the first place.

Here are the food charts that most people use:

Binky's canned food charts
Pet Food Nutritional Values list
Hobo's Guide To Nutritional Values
Dr. Lynne's Wet Food list
List of low carb gluten free Fancy Feast

On Binky's charts, stick with foods that have a number 10 or less in the carbs colum. On the Pet Food Nutritional Values Chart and Hobo's Guide, look at the %kcal from carbs column and choose foods that have a number 10 or less.

Popular brands to feed are Fancy Feast, Friskies, Wellness, Merrick, Nature's Variety Instinct, and Innova EVO. There are many others. Feed your cat whatever brand he likes to eat and you can afford and can find in the local stores.

Limit seafood based foods to once in awhile meals or treats. Some cats get addicted to eating seafood and will refuse to eat anything else.

Don't feed gravy based foods. They are too high in carbs for a diabetic but do keep a few cans in the kitchen to use in case your cat hypos. The high carbs will raise blood glucose levels.

Feed low carb treats: http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=9172

Here are tips on how to save money on a diabetic cat's care: http://binkyspage.tripod.com/frugal.html

 

Re: New diagnoses - worried about anxious cat and cost

Thank you for all of this - I will read through this carefully and consider questions for my vet, pick up some food choices tomorrow, and soon.

I feel better knowing a bit more about how long one vial or pen might last - my first question for vet will be if I can get those pens!

She did say we needed to make dietary changes. I am very surprised to see Fancy Feast and Friskies on those lists because I always thought those were not good quality foods! I live close to a very nice pet store called All The Best Pet Care that has brands like Merrick, and also close to a Petco and Petsmart. So as I experiment with finding foods that they both will eat, it will be good to have lots of options. They are so picky, ugh! Over the years I have thrown or given away food and treats that they would not eat... I mean - treats? Really? Low end treats, fancy treats - nada. Weird kitties!

Fiona never adjusted to the Aerokat/Flovent, though Gwen did. It became an epic battle twice a day to treat Fiona. Treats were no incentive! I will have to see how to move on with that issue once I get this straightened out...

We didn't mention testing but she did say we might need some adjustment early on to get things right. I think once we have time in person we can get more in depth but maybe I can see about a glucose meter tomorrow too.

So much to absorb!

Thanks for your patient and helpful replies... Sites like this are truly such a lifeline!

Melissa

 

Re: New diagnoses - worried about anxious cat and cost

Some vets may not know about the pens or how it can be used for cats. You can print the info from this web site and show it to your vet.

Many inexpensive brands are good to feed :smile: Some people feed higher end brands because of the better quality.

You can also feed raw food, a commercial brand or homemade using a god recipie.

What I did with my asthmatic diabetic in the beginning was kneel on the floor over him and firmly hold him between my knees while I gave the Flovent. Because his movement was restricted he had no choice but to hold still. There are other ways to administer Flovent to a squirmy uncooperative cat, as well as how to give insulin and test blood glucose levels.

Start insulin at no more than 1 unit twice a day. You can even do 0.5 units twice a day if you get the insulin syringes with half unit markings. It's best to start at a very low dose of insulin and to slowy increase as needed than to start too high and end up with a cat with hypoglycemia.

There is dosing info for cats over on the Lantus board: http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/viewforum.php?f=9 Most people follow the Tilly/Tight Regulation protocol.

 

Re: New diagnoses - worried about anxious cat and cost

squeem3: The issue was getting her out of hiding to give her Flovent, then her being traumatized afterwards; she quickly learned the routine and would hide and be very anxious in the morning and evening at treating times. She would then stay scared afterwards for some time. :sad:

Today I'm going to pick up a glucose meter and wet food. This morning I gave them two types of wet food I had on hand (Authority) and took away the dry food.

This is what I hope will happen: Test glucose tonight and tomorrow night, record results; on Friday morning will talk to vet about the pen Rx, hopefully get that filled, have a lesson at the vet's office on Sat. morning, monitor and test... So that should get me through Sunday, but it's a start!

Off to check the food lists for my shopping tonight.

Thanks everyone,

 

Re: New diagnoses - worried about anxious cat and cost

Here's a shopping list for hometesting:


A human glucometer. Any one that sips and takes a tiny sample is fine. We do stay away from any meter with True in the name and the Freestyle meters. They have proven to be very unreliable and read lower than other meters. The meters are often free at drug stores; it’s the strips that are expensive. You can, however, buy them on ebay at less than half the price of stores. Lots of people here also like the ReliOn from Walmart. It is an inexpensive meter and its strips are the cheapest around. Try the meter out on yourself or someone else before you try it on your cat. You want to be familiar with it before you poke the cat.

Lancets and a lancet device. Usually, until the ears “learn” to bleed, a 26-28 gauge is good. Any brand will work as long as the lancets match your device.

Ketone strips. (Ketostix) Just like human diabetics use. You will sometimes need to test urine if the numbers are high.

Rice sack. Make this out of thinnish sock, filled with raw rice or oatmeal and then knotted. You heat this in the microwave until very warm but not hot. Then heat the ears before poking. You can also use a prescription bottle filled with very warm water. It provides a good surface to poke against.

Also nice to have. Flashlight: so you can look at the ears and find the little capillaries that come off the vein running down the ear. Vaseline: Put a tiny smear where you want to poke. It will help the blood bead up.

And some lo carb treats to give your kitty, successful test or not Lo carb treats

 

Re: New diagnoses - worried about anxious cat and cost

I just called the vet office -- the vet is out today and tomorrow, so I just spoke with the front desk person. My Rx is waiting there. I asked if on Friday when the vet is back if she could write the Rx for the Solostar pens. The person said that those can't be used in cats. I told her I was doing research online on a board of dedicated cat caretakers and that the pens seem to be the preferred solution for many people and more cost effective. She sort of poo-poo'ed that saying that people may be posing as vets and it's the internet, blah blah... I said I would call back on Friday when the vet is back in. She said they recommend starting insulin right away - I said I realized that and had an appointment set up for Saturday at the clinic.

Should I be surprised at this response? I am now curious what the vet will say. =/

 

Re: New diagnoses - worried about anxious cat and cost

You'd be surprised how many times we "hear" that! Yes, we're all just a bunch of crazy cat people wreaking havoc on the internets!!! It would be awesome if you gave them the web address for this site so they could see that we aren't just a bunch of loonies. :lol: There are one or two vets who post here on occasion, and some vet techs or people studying to become vets/techs who post here. But most of us are just ordinary people who have treated our own diabetic cats with a great deal of success.

The "it's the internet" thing just baffles me though. I can understand people (especially trained professionals) thinking that way 15 or more years ago. But how can anyone with some degree of intelligence not realize that pretty much everything that is in a textbook is available (mostly for free) on the internet today? And the wealth of information "out here" is very up-to-date too. Nobody here who isn't a vet ever comes close to claiming that they are, and you'll see "you need to ask your vet...." posted here every day.

One thing I do know for sure. We see more "newly diagnosed diabetic cats" appear here in one week than most vet clinics see in a year. I've only been here for one year. But I've seen more cats go into remission in one year than my vet (and most likely your vet) has seen in her lifetime, and she's been in practice for over 30 years. We follow protocols that were developed by vets who specialized in feline diabetes, and guidelines that were created by the AAHA. Sadly, we see cat after cat appear here who weren't started on insulin treatment based on those guidelines and people who weren't given good basic instructions by their vets, or given insulin that has been proven to work on cats. People come here, they post questions, and they are astounded by the fact that "our advice" is so at odds with the advice of professionals that they have been doing business with for years, and that they've entrusted their pets' lives to. It's very sad.

Using the solostar pens is much more cost effective for you. And hundreds (if not thousands) of people have been doing it for years here. So apparently it can be done, and it works. She might not know that, but it's true nonetheless. She probably doesn't understand that you would stick the syringe into the pen, and draw out insulin just like you would do with a vial of insulin.
But really, you're the customer in this relationship, so they don't really have a choice in the matter. If you say you want a 'scrip for the pens, and they won't give one to you, just tell them you'll get one from another vet. In a perfect world, your vet would be willing to listen, and actually hear what you have to say, and be willing to work with you. For the life of me, I just don't understand how some people stay in business. They seem to forget who is in charge when you have one person (you) who has the money and someone who wants your money.

Just be firm and tell them what you need. And let us know how it goes!
Carl

 

I think you are right -- I didn't go into detail about how the syringe is used to draw the insulin out of the pen. I think in that moment I felt a little mental wall go up and I was a little turned off by her, if you will. I realize that you can find bad/goofy information on the internet but honestly, I think she should have probably just said that I should speak about alternatives with the vet directly.

I am going to try to pick up supplies at Walmart tonight and see if I can test on myself, then the cat. I am nervous and will probably need to check for instructions/videos on this but -- I am going to try!

Gahhhh!

She likes having her ears rubbed so I hope that will help relax and prep her a little bit!

I am going to try and upload a pic here...

 

What a beauty! Love the markings on that sweet face.

Check YouTube for "feline diabetes testing"....loads of vids there.

Carl

 

And look at your gray and white cat too! How funny.

Here is her sister Gwen.

 

Beautiful ladies you have there! Gwen looks like my Sneakers.

Don't forget to get small lancets- 26 or 28- you need them bigger at the beginning. And warm the ears good because that will help the blood to flow (even when there isn't a lot there)- kitty cat ears are notorious turnips! It might take awhile to get blood, do three tries and praise Fiona and let her go after a treat- if she will take it. I've used boiled chicken, no salt for Sneakers and she's accepted that before but she normally tests without a treat as finding a treat she will eat more than two days has been tough. I donate unused treats to my two nephew droolers :lol: .

She might not like the lancet pen clicking by her head- Sneakers didn't, so I free-hand the lancet and forego the pen. Place a small bit of cotton ball in the inside edge of the ear after warming up, poke with the lancet, and rub the ear to get a bead of blood. place the blood on your fingernail rather than trying to get the meter next to her head and have it beep at her. Once you have a bead, lightly pinch the hole for 3-5 seconds and let her go, THEN get out a strip, place it in the meter, and let itsip off your fingernail.

Easy-peasy when you get used to it .

 

Well, don't listen to the receptionist who may or not even be a vet tech. Talk directly to the vet about the SoloStar pens. They're just like a 10 ml bottle, just in a pen shape :smile: In theory you could use the pens the same way a Human diabetic would with the pen needles and dialing the dose and pushing the button to inject the insulin. But the pens only dose in whole unit increments. Sometimes a cat needs a half unit or even a quarter unit dose. That is why we use insulin syringes instead. You can dose smaller amounts of insulin.

The sooner your cat starts on insulin, the greater the chances of remission are. For now, you can start with a diet change and learn how to test blood glucose levels. The on Saturday when you talk to the vet and get the prescription, you can start giving Lantus.

 

I wonder how long my cat has been diabetic -- doesn't seem like there is a way to tell! I hope she hasn't been feeling lousy for a long time!

Hopefully I can find foods they will both eat.

 

Update! Shopping and a little bit of success.

Glucometer: Kroger brand "no coding"
Strips: Agamatrix Presto
Pharmacy gal was great and researched to make sure they were compatible together - strips were 50 for about $25. This was at Fred Meyer. Came with 10 lancets and lancing pen thingy.

Food: 4 types of Evo,a Wellness, 4 Before Grain,a Pet Guard, and 1 Newman's Own.

Cats were off dry food yesterday and today, eating Authority cans I had on hand.

Tried lancing myself - arm was a failure, so lanced finger.

Got Fiona on table with her flat cat bed she likes. Could not get bloodwith lancing device on 4, so used lancet on its own and finally did it. FiOna did not like any of this but finally let out a big sigh at one point! Haha. Poor thing.

Her level = 180. Much better than 370 from vet visit. She had been nibbling on food this evening. They are grazers yet.

 

On the lancets....see if the box says what gauge they are. They usually give you 30 or 33g. Once you use what you have, you can buy a larger gauge like 26 or 28, and if you are free-handing, it won't matter which brand. The larger ones will help you get blood on the first poke. Great job on getting blood
Carl

 

Great that you got a meter and supplies :smile: Sometimes the lancet device that comes with the meter just does't work very well :roll: You can freehand the lancet if that is easier for you. What guage are the lancets? Anything over 28 gauge is too thin to get blood out of a cat's ear, even with warming. Are you warming Fiona's ear before you poke with the lancet? Warm ears bleed best. Remember to give Fiona a low carb treat after every bg test. That way she'll associate testing with a yummy treat and is less apt to hide.

180 is a pretty good number, though still a diabetic number :smile: A trip to the vet can stress out a cat and temporarily inflate blood glucose levels. This is why we don't recommend having a vet do in office blood glucose testing/curves. The results are often inaccurately high and an insulin dose based on those numbers may result in a hypo at home where your cat is stress-free.

 

Not a bad number at all. I would continue with the wet food, take away all the dry and get more numbers. It is possible with the wet only diet that she will continue to come down. If you can give the vet a spreadsheet full of lower numbers by Saturday, she might need only a tiny bit of insulin or maybe none at all! (anti jinx)

 

The vet did an initial glucose test, then when that was high did the fructosamine test after calling me with initial results. I am going to open some new cans this morning - fingers crossed they will dig in!

I will look into bigger lancets after work too.

I could barely get blood ftom myself first -it was comical.

 

HI Mellody - if the bottom of your post is correct and you are in Seattle - thats great. Lantus insulin is MUCH less expensive in Canada and its purchased over the counter. You can get the Solostar pens there for about $125.00 which is a one hundred dollar savings over US prices. So if you don't mind a quick road trip you can save a lot of money. Diabetes is definitely not a cheap disease to treat but by home testing instead of having the vets office do curves you can save a lot of money. Plus you have peace of mind - you won't kill your cat by giving insulin if her blood sugar levels are too low. Some vets are supportive of home testing, some aren't. Bottom line is if this was your child you wouldn't THINK of giving insulin without checking blood sugar first so why should a cat be any different. Jan

 

Hi Jan, thanks. Yes, I livea bit north of the city. I will keep all of the information you provided in mind! The time and gas money might negate some of the savings but depending on how thing progress, I will defiitely consider it.

Good news - both cats nibbled at the food I opened this morning (Newman's Own - Turkey).

 

Update! I came home early from work with an eye/contact issue, so tested her again.

101!

Now I realize that these readings may not be as accurate as a lab reading but - yay?!

 

those are some REALLY good readings ! Dry food definitely means higher #'s.

Remember not to shoot into the low #'s if you don't have the data to see how low she goes. And no food 2 hrs before shot time or her #'s might be food spiked.

But this is awesome :!: :!: :!:

 

I am a little confused about your first sentence, can you elaborate? Sorry!

They are still free fed because I did not want to change food and availability all at once; i hope to move to 2 feedings a day soon though... So though she may have eaten recently, i figured one extra reading to have for vet might help. But 101 was a huge surprise!

Your cat looks so much like me Gwen - think they are Korats?

 

Don't give insulin if the blood glucose level is under 200 mg/dl. You are just starting out with insulin and therefore have no idea of knowing how the insuiln will affect your cat. 200 is the general cut off safety number for insulin to be given.

With Lantus, you do not want to give any food 2 hours before the insulin shot because the food will cause blood glucose levels to rise a bit.

Have you read the stickies over the Lantus board? They explain more in detail how to Lantus works for cats: http://felinediabetes.com/FDMB/viewforum.php?f=9

 

I live just north of the border - really - 5 mins max. There is a Costco about 20 minutes from me. Not sure about Lantus prices as I use Levemir, but here's a little cost info.

The Levemir costs ~$105 for 5 cartridges of 3 mls each. This is 1500 units of insulin. From the numbers that your cat is giving you, you will be on a pretty low dose I'm guessing (although that might change with steriods). For illustration purposes, lets choose 1 unit twice a day. Those 1500 units would last you 750 days - like 2 years. Each time you give a shot, you take the insulin out of the fridge, stick it with a syringe, put it back in the fridge. If you use a vial, you do this to all of your insulin every day - in fact twice. If you have the pens, you only do this to the pen that you are using and the rest of the insulin sits safely in the fridge, not being taken in and out and poked. This is why the pens are so much better deal b/c the insulin lasts longer.

So if you only need to buy insulin once a year, and save over $100, it might be worth your time to drive up. And you make a bit on the exchange! Send me a PM if you want me to check Lantus prices. Nothing nefarious - I just don't check this board very often these days.

 

Aw! Tested again, 10 pm, no food out from 8-10 pm - 181.

Hm.

 

Tested this morning - 145.

Am waiting for call back from the vet to discuss everything.

 

We consider a cat to be in remission and in normal numbers if they range from from 40-120 with the majority of the time in double digits, off insulin. You are really close.

You might try an even lower carb than you are now feeding. (Say you are doing a 8%, you might hunt for a 2-4%. The seafood ones tend to be that low and you don't want to feed seafood daily, but there are some others in the same ballpark.) And if you can feed small frequent meals that should help the pancreas heal.

It would make me nervous to give insulin to a new diabetic at your numbers. It would have to be a really tiny dose. Watch that the vet doesn't get high numbers (stress induced) if you take her in and then want to give a bigger dose......

 

Thanks, Sue. I still haven't talked to the vet but I have meetings coming up now - it might be a phone tag kind of day!

I am hoping she will say that we should continue the diet change for a bit more time and hold off on insulin. I can transition them to two primary meals a day (I work full time so I could do morning before work, after work, with maybe a tiny meal before bed?)...

They are liking the food I bought - I really expected more finickiness so am really really pleased about this. I am also proud of myself for getting blood in my first prick now - I am using the lancet freehand and the larger lancet size helped a lot (28).

Thank you so much everybody - I can't tell you how helpful this has all been to me! I will continue to update.

Here is a pic of Fiona and her sister. Gwen is a comfort hog, as you can see.

 

Its OK for them to graze through the day - it can make for more even glucose levels. Just pick up the food 2 hours before test time.
(They tell human diabetics to do several small meals too.)

Alternatively, get a timed compartment feeder that opens to an empty slot 2 hours before test time. The PetMate 5 (check Amazon for prices) seems to do well for most folks.

With several small meals throughout the day, low carb canned or raw food, you may do well enough not to need insulin at all

 

Good news! I spoke with the vet and told her about this board and how I learned how to test blood glucose at home, and told her the numbers. She was happily surprised at the results! She said as long as she's below 200 without insulin, we probably don't have to use it. I will continue monitoring Fiona each night and see if she consistently stays in the range I've seen so far. I promised the vet an update next week.

I mentioned that if we do end up administering insulin that I'd be interested in the Solostar pens. She had not heard of them but seemed open to the idea as it is the same medication.

I will give food when I get home from work (@630 - 7) and pick up the food 2 hours before I test.

I also emailed her a link to felinediabetes.com and included information about the Solostar pens.

Yay!

*relief* :razz:

 

Way to go! Another vet getting updated a bit!

 

It's great that your vet is supportive of home testing :smile: I would give diet no more than a week. Keep testing bgs during this time. Non-diabetic numbers are considered under 150. If your cat is above this number even with diet, then you should start insulin. Sometimes the pancrease just needs a little help in order to start fully working again. There are cats who only need insulin for a very short time before they go into remission and are diet-controlled.

 

Update for tonight's test: 158

 

Update for Saturday 6/23 - 145, though she was being picky about the food options and I'm not entirely sure when she ate prior to me testing her... it's possible it was more than 3-4 hours.

I got sidetracked last night and didn't test. *Bad mama*

 

Hi guys, just read through this entire post .. So glad you are home testing and seeing these awesome numbers! One of our kitties favorite foods is the wal mart brand, special kitty .. it comes in 5.5oz cans for .43 each .. she loves the turkey and giblets and eats five small meals throughout the day .. she was on lantus for 22 months and is now 15 months "diet controlled" .. Good luck to you guys, it all sounds promising!

 

It's nice to hear that Gwen is doing better and has some fabulous numbers to show for it!

Sneakers is a mixed breed, looking like a blue russian. Her litter sister was a calico- maybe torte (she had the 'tude for it :lol: )

She is affectionate and used to love the softest things to sleep on- now she wants to be cool and spreads out on the floor to stay cool.

 

Three cheers for Fiona's pancreas!!! And three cheers for Fiona's bean!!!

Check out my spreadsheet... it took a while after the diet change to get Scout down to below 100 levels, but she got there in the end. I hope that Fiona will be the same way. Glad both of your kitties have been receptive to the change in food!

Lori

PS Sorry I got your kitties' names mixed up for a bit there

 

Thanks... I was thinking about braving the wilds of Walmart tonight to try some more foods including Special Kitty. Your cat is beautiful!

 

Aw, that is so cute.

Here is a Gwen's face (first pic) and a Korat face (internet source haha) (second pic) - separated at birth?!

 

Tonight a few hours after food: 141

 

141 is AWESOME!!! Go Fiona!!!

And Sneakers does look like Korat :lol:

 

Thank you!

 

Poor Fiona now has the testing figured out. She mews pitifully. I am treating her afterwards but she is still upset by the process, poor baby.

 

If she will take treats she will soon get over it and put up with the pokies just for the yum-yum noms.

Poor Sneakers didn't, I'm still trying to find a treat she will eat for more than a day. She doesn't mind the pokes though- Since I test before feeding I guess she sees the whole bowl as her treat for pokies :lol: .

 

Ugh, Fiona turned her little pink nose up a a few types of food tonight. She took to wet initially but the last 2 days she is being so picky! I tred crumbling her new fave treats on top the other day but she just licked it off - lol

She did not want a type of food she ate just a few days ago!

Any tips?

I will test her tonight but I don't think she has eaten.

 

Have you tried...
Heating it up a bit in the microwave to make it smell even worse (to us anyway)?
Mixing in a little warm water?
Sprinkling a little parmasean cheese on top?
Bonita flakes?

I never had to do any of that, but I've read lots of people have tried those ideas. Bob only turned up his nose at one food..... prescription Hills M/D canned. He was smarter than I was at that point about what foods were and weren't good for him!

Carl

 

Microwaving (if it's been in the fridge): Check
Adding water: usually after microwaving a bit - Check
Crumbling her tasty treat on top: Check (she just eats off the treat and stops there!)
Parmesan: Have not tried this! They're rarely interested in people-food (only fish) but that is an interesting idea!

HOWEVER -- This morning she did eat the rest of the same can I think she did not eat last night. I think she finally just got hungry!

 

BG update for evening of 6/26: 122 (but I'm not sure when she had eaten - it was definitely more than 2-3 hours before testing because she was picky about the food.)

 

Great numbers. If you're not giving insulin, and her BG is not high, it's not the end of the world if she skips a meal or two. With high numbers and not eating, different story.

With Scout I found that her numbers actually dropped a bit after eating - an indication that her pancreas was actually working!!

Keep us posted,
Lori

 

I think she's trying to hold out for her crunchy kibble. Which she will not get. I have it in a closed container on top of the fridge, so I don't think she smells it or anything; I need to figure out what to do with it. I had JUST bought a new 6 lb bag of food right before this whole scenario came up. Now I don't know what to do with the opened dry food!

 

As far as open dry food goes check with your local shelters, many of them are grateful for any supplies they can get, just explain the situation and see if they would love to take it off your hands.

Great numbers BTW

Mel, Maxwell, Autumn & The Fur Gang

 

Is there a group in your area that feeds ferals? I'm sure they'd appreciate it.
Carl

 

Ah, good idea about the ferals... I called the Petsmart near me where I got the food - a local shelter runs an adoption service out of the store. I will see if they can use the food, then check with feral groups. I mean it's not THAT much food but I'm sure some cat would be happy to have it.

 

Try these crunchy low carb treats: http://www.onlynaturalpet.com/product_detail.aspx?item_guid=B49A3BAF-858C-45FC-BDC0-FEBC3B05DBDA Some bands of freeze dried meat treats are pretty crunchy, too.

 

Last night: 105!

Once again not sure when she ate - i put food out around 7 .

 

Tonight: 122! I know she ate around 7ish, I tested her just before 10 pm.

 

Those are some really good numbers. What have her nadirs been do you know (how low does she go?)? I don't see a SS link.

Those numbers don't need shots.

 

I haven't created one of those fancy spreadsheets. I've really just been doing the bare minimum for now, I guess, with one test a day for the most part.

What is the best way to capture a nadir? How long after feeding?

Thanks!

 

We recommend you test as follows:

1) Always before giving insulin - how else can you know it is safe to give?

2) Around the nadir - roughly 6 hours after Lantus, and possibly ProZinc or PZI, could be later for Levemir, and about 3-4 hours after Humulin N

3) Any time you see concerning behavior - staggering, odd yowling, glassy eyes, dilated eyes - because yu might have a hypo. Could be something else too, but hypos can be fata.

 

She is not receiving any insulin and is behaving normally.